A better, more universal app experience

Overview

For three and a half years and during a global pandemic, I was the solo design resource for the iOS native mobile app (NMA). I was also a go-to resource for anything mobile. My first responsibility when joining the team was to extend a design overhaul to all parts of the "happy path flow" (search/browse to checkout) for the Chewy app on iOS.

The first hurdle I faced was designing for a larger display. We were building a universal app which contrary to the tech enthusiasts was not as simple as checking a box in Xcode. This would allow our store to be optimized for both iPhone and iPad which only a couple years later would be forked off as iPadOS.

The newest iteration of the Chewy app for iOS and iPadOS, a universal app which I led design for and was shown live when Chewy went public on the NYSE.

When I began work, I built a design system of existing components, standardized the type classes so we could support Dynamic Text resizing, reduced our color palette to the essentials, yet kept a few in reserve for future use, and reworked each InVision prototype that already existed.

I conducted an audit and refinement phase of the color palette, typography, iconography, and visual effects to introduce dark mode with iOS 13.

I constructed precisely-crafted components adhering to confirmed styles and Human Interface Guidelines recommendations

Since I worked on every part of the Chewy app, there are so many projects to list. Here are some that I really enjoyed building:

API research and design of Pay
Crafting a robust Filter/Sort feature
Having fun with iMessage Stickers
New business with eGift Cards
Supporting customers with Text Chat
Supporting Pharmacy launch with  Pet Profiles

A majority of these experiences still exist in the app that you can download right now with my existing design.

I led approach, design, and technical implementation for Apple Pay across all Chewy platforms. Arguably the highest sought after feature our customers wanted for years.

I redesigned our sort & filter tool to give customers the ability to narrow down over 50,000 products we offered including medication.

I worked with our iOS engineers to provide contextual hints about making selections.

Chewy's first digital product, and one that used the entire design team to pull off. eGift Cards (and now also physical gift cards) became an overnight success.

I designed multiple iterations of pet profiles to support Pharmacy launch (medical and breed information) and recommendations (allergies, weight, etc.).

Designed with a brand-illustrator on the team, I brought iMessage stickers to life with subtle animation. It serves no practical function except for delight and is a bit of an Easter egg.

I particular enjoyed building skills in...

Presenting and selling to leadership.
Working in two-week sprint-based working style (adjusting from waterfall)
Close collaboration with Product and Engineering coworkers to complete the three-legged stool.
Advanced prototyping with InVision (RIP); plus briefly Origami and Framer (from 2018).
Deep research of new features both in design, but also in development lift of APIs available to the team and working with what we had.
Supporting the team with a deep dive for App Privacy 'Nutritional Labels' for the required App Store change. Understanding what we collected and what we did not helped me continue to make informed design decisions.
Apple Technologies and frameworks including: the Human Interface Guidelines, Universal app binary, Size classes & dynamic type, VoiceOver and Voice Control, Text recognition/OCR, Push Notification services, iMessage extensions, Dark Mode and theming with Asset Library, and Apple Pay.

Challenges faced

I was the only designer on this team responsible for the entirety of the store experience on a platform.
Leadership and product owners often pointed to the apps as not being in 'parity' to the website experience.
Quarterly goals and shifting initiatives as new business came online always proved difficult to manage.
Designing in lock-step with my closest design ally, our Android designer, to build features at the same time on unique platforms.
Needing to bring so much more proof and research to the table to validate and defend my design decisions.
Management changes, a shift in core values and evolving design/research team culture.

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